Hey, everyone. ”Moriarty” here. It would have been more appropriate to run this review yesterday, but here we are. I’m looking forward to this. I’ve always been fascinated by the real-life story, and I’ve heard some great things about Richard Gere’s work in the film:
Harry, how’s it goin’ big man?! I was recently enrolled in a continuing-ed film class sponsored by NYU this spring (birthday present). Needless to say, this experience has afforded me tons of delectable “peeks” into the freshest films of the season. This past week, our class was treated to a screening of “The Hoax”, Lasse Hallstrom’s newest circa 1970’s piece, involving, quite possibly, the greatest print ruse ever imagined. “The Hoax” is a small film, often getting ahead of itself. The director’s navigation through a script that juggles power plays, set-ups / pay-offs, and indelible suspense – at times, becomes superseded by a need to develop strong characters. The story revolves around Clifford Irving, real-life journalist/struggling novelist of the late 60’s early 70’s, brought to life meticulously by Richard Gere. The film is, by most accounts, a true to life representation of Irving’s plan to pen the “authentic” autobiography of aviation tycoon, Howard Hughes. Irving pulls it off. Stemming from an idea that comes to him quite suddenly, the writer, along with close friend/partner in crime Dick Susskind (the ferociously magnificent Alfred Molina), convinces long-time employer and publishing mogul, McGraw-Hill to subsidize and publish what they believe will be, the “story of the century”. Hughes has nothing to do with this. Irving knows nothing about him. The story belongs to screenwriter William Wheeler, who delights in showing us the process. Irving and Susskind devote their lives to stealing federal records, copying manuscripts belonging to former Hughes’ confidants; and researching the flyboy’s nature so diligently, that McGraw-Hill sex-pot executive Andrea Tate, (Hope Davis, in a searing, red-hot role) will do anything to get her hands on it. The film works about as well as its content. Meaning, that for all intents and purposes, while Irving is still holding all the cards, (he manipulates McGraw-Hill into dealing with/paying only him due to Hughes’ well-known paranoia and idiosyncrasies) the film moves at a blistering pace. We see a man who is literary untouchable. Through careful forgeries of Hughes’ penmanship, a deep understanding of the recluse’s colloquialisms and speech patterns, nobody dares call his bluff. We experience a “changing of the guard” at the end of the 2nd act. Irving and Susskind find themselves S.O.L – when in need of a way to cash a $1 million check made out to Howard Hughes. Irving decides to use his sheepish, broken-hearted wife Edith (the quietly tragic Marcia Gay Harden) to travel to her native Switzerland and open an account under false initials. From here, the audience experiences the slow-burn of a Greek tragedy. As Irving’s plan becomes steadily unmasked, through major holes in his slight-of-hand, it seems that no one is going to get out of this mess unscathed. It is here that performances become muddy. Through no fault of his own, Wheeler now has his hands full. A tangled web of a story with too many loose-ends becomes an overflowing melting-pot for every performer’s final summation. Drama and confusion bubble-over like an un-checked pot on a stove. Although top-secret documents containing pseudo-Watergate info comes into play to ripen the suspense and Irving’s involvement, it’s too much too soon. By now, everyone watching the film knows the outcome and is going through the motions. Does it work? Sure. Hallstrom is a painter enjoying his every brushstroke. I absolutely loved What’s Eating Gilbert Grape and The Cider House Rules was a choice interpretation of John Irving’s wonderful story. Even his most recent German piece An Unfinished Life was absolutely spellbinding. It’s just that with a film such as The Hoax we need to care, immensely, from the first frame to the last. I was hard-pressed to find someone in my line of sight that did. In the end, I think we all got to empathize with the execs at McGraw-Hill – We knew we were in for something wonderful, until the joke turned out to be on us. Care to use this review? Call me ColeKutz, thanks!
